I was about to say I wanted purple. However, I picked a robot character precisely so I could use the code boxes and simple script format. I suppose the code box is my "color," ML might be better suited for purple considering Lad's background.

Aye, colors are a great idea, I really do recommend them, but not required, and I think Teddy's code boxes are perfectly distinctive.

And no, Narts, you don't have to try to stop him, I was just saying that's still an option, as long as you weren't successful. The Compel is simply because you made a good plan and Bittman complicated that, I liked that complication but also felt that you should get a Fate point as compensation if that complication was allowed to happen.

Generally Compels will be a bit more more "if this happens you can get a fate point" but it's also a way for me to reward good ideas, even if that idea ends up being a failure. If that makes sense.

And yeah, adding a negative aspect like that is perfectly fine.

HPD wrote:You know the only thing on the agenda of the Squirtle Squad is pure, unadulterated chaos.

I wanted orange because ORANGE STAR but I always thought pkdragon = orange! and I really mean pkdragon looks like a dragonite in my mind!

===============

"...should last me until we get to where we need to go," Summer thought to herself, counting her own ammo and supplies. After the botched special ops mission before the break of dawn, crash landing into a waiting ambush, and meeting some new companions, the day's events were starting to tax her concentration. "Oh yeah, this MG is broken." She addressed corporal Lewis as he passed her. "Hey, when are we moving out?"

"I think we should go with the platoon file. The mounted element will form its own free-roaming unit that should scout the way ahead. The file formation will allow the footsoldiers to follow at maximum speed."

The file is less secure than the wedge, he thought. But any attackers would be drawn to the recon team, he surmised.

"We should avoid radio contact except in an emergency."

He paused to think if the responsibility of a platoon leader was too heavy for Lewis' shoulders, who was a mere corporal. But he had gotten his men this far, Bittman could not be swayed from going with the recon team, and Vasil himself had to be the radio man, and he was effectively an outsider anyway. Lewis had to do.

Announcement: You are limping.
Generic Infantry: Uh, yeah? That's why we're assigned to the recon.
Reply: I possess first-aid capabilities for mild to moderate injuries.
Reply: Your injuries may prevent escape from vehicle
Reply: if it should become incapacitated.
GI 2: Whoa, hang on, I don't need treatment from no robot!
GI 1: Yeah, don't you have oil and grease on your hands.
Reply: As part of my support suite I have been outfitted
Reply: with basic first-aid ammenities.
Reply: Including sterilization protocols and extra gloves.
GI 1: Well, if you have painkillers, I could use those.
GI 2: Oh oh, can I have a lollipop?
Observation: Sarcasm detected.

Game log:
Teddy is waiting in the back of the recon. (3/3/3 normal)
Teddy offers medical services to the waiting scouts. (Roll 8, Skill 2)
Remaining rolls: 1, 3-7, 9

Both you and Narts can keep those last two cards tbqh, the delay is my fault, my sister is moving out, my brother's getting his first job, we've been a bit busy this weekend . PS awesome formation illustration there Narts,

The group heads out, according to Vasil's formation, Bittman, Summer, and Teddy in the lead, driving forward in their recon, Bittman still shouting at the top of his lungs.

Lewis was happy they finally were moving out. They had been running, since getting cut off from the front lines, evading the Black Hole legions. They could all die horribly in the battle to come, but at least that means. He had gotten unexpected allies, including two war veterans. He still wasn't sure how he felt about Vasil, but there was no denying the man was effective. He clearly knew what he was talking about. Lewis was just worried about the motorized vehicle. He had a feeling that there was no way they could make it to the supply depot without getting detected with Bittman the Great in the scouting team, so they had to move fast. Thankfully, that was one thing his squad was good at. He gave the order to move double-time, as they climbed their way out of the valley.

So a few things:

-I want Notice and Stealth checks from everyone, even if you don't have those skills trained.
- Vasil, give me a Physique or Atheletics test (your choice) as well since you are marching on foot.
- Summer, if you could also give me a Drive check for driving the Recon at the speeds Bittman wants over the hilly terrain?
- Bittman, how fast do you want the recon to go? Not asking for a mph, just general speed, compared to everyone else?

HPD wrote:You know the only thing on the agenda of the Squirtle Squad is pure, unadulterated chaos.

Log-205-E
1115 hours
Situation: recon team has departed
Internal Notes: Which I "volunteered" for.
Suggestion: Speed should be kept moderate
Suggestion: to avoid running into enemy units
Suggestion: and to maintain vehicle integrity-
Summer: Sorry, can't hear you!
Bittman: ONWARDS!
Reply: ...this will also allow the non-mounted units
Reply: to catch up quickly in case of engagement.
Internal Notes: We are bound to be caught at this rate.
Internal Notes: I can man the mounted gun at least.

Depends on the situation. With something like Notice, it's likely to be as high as your highest value. With Stealth, it's likely to be as low as your lowest value. (this makes stealth a tricky skill to rely on, but that's a balancing factor to how useful it is). Of course, rolling a good Stealth even if you end up in a group that has no concept of stealth isn't a BAD thing, it still means you're the least likely to be noticed of the group (unless there's other factors... like, you're the driver of the really loud recon.)

tl;dr- it's situational.

HPD wrote:You know the only thing on the agenda of the Squirtle Squad is pure, unadulterated chaos.

The infantry quickly assembled under Vasil's new formation. Summer took her seat, feeling better now that she was in control of a vehicle again. Hopefully the first hit on it doesn't cause an engine failure like the copter incident. The repairs looked good but when she pressed the accelerator and the recon lurched forward it was obvious it needed some more work. Bittman sat in the passenger seat while the drone and two infantry were in the back. "Tally ho, Summer! Let us ride this metal stallion into the unknown!" Summer turned to Vasil, Lewis, and the other foot troops and grimaced before moving out.

The BH inf started yammering about how fast to go but Summer cut it off, "Sorry! Can't hear you!" because of the engine noise and also because of the occassional exclaimation from Bittman. "Onwards!... Summer, can this vehicle go no faster?" She wasn't sure how fast they were going since the dashboard had been damaged but they weren't exactly on a brand new road either. "Sir, I'll try to maintain a brisk pace but in light of repairs and this terrain I don't want to push it." The good captain became restless, like a child, and Summer was sure he would start asking if they were there yet any moment now. From what she had heard about their destination, she thought to stop once it came into view so that they didn't alert any hostiles in control. This assumed they wouldn't get attacked on the way there of course.

Sorry, other stuff kept me preoccupied and I still have this load of backlog to read first. I'm starting to doubt if I can commit to this. :/

"So when I say the fudge shaman flies he goddamn well flies and that's that." - Narts"My motto is that there are far too many women in the world to waste time with men." - thefalman"It's just that I'm not really aware of how a common conversation goes." - Imano Ob, talking on MSN about talking on MSN"As for FE8, that was IS' variant of Man Spam - Dudes with Swords edition." - Xenesis

Sven wrote:you're currently locked in a room with mlad after being captured by blackhole. the rest of the party is off doing random crumpets and you don't really need to worry about it if you don't have time.

alright, I'll see what i can do once my comp finishes installing win10 which ot insists on doing and my wifi works again

"So when I say the fudge shaman flies he goddamn well flies and that's that." - Narts"My motto is that there are far too many women in the world to waste time with men." - thefalman"It's just that I'm not really aware of how a common conversation goes." - Imano Ob, talking on MSN about talking on MSN"As for FE8, that was IS' variant of Man Spam - Dudes with Swords edition." - Xenesis

Bittman and Summer push forward- too far, too fast. They drift ahead of the rest, though not as far as Bittman would like, thanks to Summer's driving and the terrain. They leave the valley behind, entering a dense hill forest. Thankfully, there's a forest trail that they are following and everything seems to be going fine- until they turn a corner, and find themselves face to face with two squads of Black Hole infantry. The infantry stare at their foes as if they can't believe that an allied recon rolled right into them, and then take up their arms. Unfortunately for them, the recon is still moving and drives through the line of enemies. Some gunfire goes off, as the soldiers dodge out of the way.

Vasil, thanks to your superb attempts at perception, you hear some gunfire up ahead. You can't tell exactly what's going on, and it still sounds like it's a ways away. No matter what's going on though, gunfire means nothing good.

Enemies
2 squads of Black Hole Infantry, 5 men each

Zone Map

The map was simply made to represent a forest trail. Remember, it takes one action to move from one zone to another- except in the case of the recon, which has momentum on it's side. It does, however, require an action to drive the recon if you plan on not crashing horribly! Nothing particularly special about any one zone yet, we'll get into more interesting maps soon.

(PS: In the future I'll use icons to represent individual characters. If you want me to use a specific picture to represent you, by all means link me. Just, keep it fairly small for ease of use.)

Situational Aspects:In a Recon (Summer/Bittman/Teddy): You have the recon available to use as a weapon, and have some natural cover protecting you from the enemy. Momentum(Summer/Bittman/Teddy): The recon is still moving. It will naturally leave Zone A and enter Zone D at the end of the turn, unless you make a driving check to turn the vehicle. If you want to exit the recon while it is moving, it'll require an Atheletics check and will count as an action. Tree cover (all zones): Due to the forest terrain and distances in elevation, it's difficult to tell what is happening between zones, and even harder to make attacks between zones. There is also plenty of room to take cover within zones.

(So you can use any of these to justify using a Fate Point to add +2 to actions involving these things)

Turn 1 Begin

So everyone can make 1 major action this turn- keep posts and actions simple and sweet, preferably. Refer to my combat post in the rules topic for guidelines on what actions are.

(sorry the flavor was so mediocre after so much build up lol, but I really wanted to keep things moving but am not feeling particularly eloquent tonight. Also, pretty simple map and fight because it's essentially a "get used to combat" battle. Battles in the future will be more complicated.)

HPD wrote:You know the only thing on the agenda of the Squirtle Squad is pure, unadulterated chaos.

Things were progressing smoothly, about as smoothly as a quickly repaired recon gallivanting over grassy hills on a cold mid-day could be. The team entered a forest area soon enough but at least there was a path that allowed the recon to move through it at mostly the same pace. One of the infantry in the back groaned, "Are we there yet?" to which Summer replied in the negative. Presently Bittman echoed him to which Summer tersely replied no once more. As if picking up on her annoyance, the infantry drone joined in. Its monotone voice was altered to mimic the impatience of its less mechanical counterparts. Summer found the effect unnerving - so unnerving that she noticed the group of hostile infantry on the trail later than she would have. The sound of gunfire cut off their banter.

Fortunately, the distraction was more helpful than not. Summer might have otherwise tried a dangerous reversal or stopped amidst the two squads which looked like they were traveling somewhere. This thought quickly escaped her mind however as she quickly got the idea to try pressing ahead so the team could bunker down and get an advantage over their pursuers.

The file had been marching briskly through the forest when Vasil stopped all of a sudden, raising his hand to signal.

I hear. Gunfire. Line Formation. Hurry Up.

The private behind him was slightly confused. He had heard nothing. He relayed the message behind him regardless and the troops began to act.

Corporal Lewis was confused as he noticed Vasil running towards and past him. But he understood quickly and ordered his own team to charge forward. He stayed behind to make sure the flank teams got the message as well.

Vasil hurriedly checked his radio. No signal. Was no one operating the vehicle comms? He was growing worried.

Everyone understood something had happened to the recon team. It also seemed the enemy had not noticed the infantry platoon yet and no one wanted to waste the element of surprise. No one was speaking, only using hand signals to communicate. Everyone was keeping their heads down and trying to stay behind foliage while moving as fast as they could.

They formed a platoon line in anticipation of the need to deliver maximum firepower to the front.

Roll 9(+2) Skill(+3) for Stealth. Use 1 Fate Point to enhance the roll (Tree cover)
Roll 10(+3) Skill(+3) for Notice.

Vasil and his troops make it to Zone 2 undetected- or at least, so it seems. Despite the tree cover and distance, Vasil is able to make out the black hole troops ahead- still firing and yelling to each other about "blue moon scum!". Despite this, there's no sign of the recon, and the sound of the motor seems to be getting further from you.

Situational Aspects are still the same, though I should note if you keep going in your current direction without at least you will leave the battlefield, and I'm still able to represent that (for this particular battle at least)

Turn 2 Begin

I should note that unless the BH troops are prepared for characters that enter their space, they won't be able to get an attack off right away. I don't want to punish people for engaging the enemy.

So they are aware and prepared for the recon, but not aware of Vasil and the infantry.

HPD wrote:You know the only thing on the agenda of the Squirtle Squad is pure, unadulterated chaos.